Joan Walley MP
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA 11th November 2014
Dear Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee,
Campaign for Air Pollution Public Inquiry to stop thousands of deaths
Whilst it is positive that the Environmental Audit Committee have conducted a very significant Inquiry into the failed Air Quality strategies throughout the United Kingdom there is a growing concern that although urgent action is needed, there is insufficient action from Government and other agencies.
This includes the failure of the Government to implement many of the recommendations of the Environmental Audit Committee’s previous report of 2011 which urged government to take immediate action.
In order to expose and overcome the obstacles which have been preventing action on this critical issue a petition has been launched and is gaining considerable public support calling for a public inquiry into why there has been this failure to act and what needs to be done.
The signatories to this letter request that the Environmental Audit Committee supports the Campaign for Air Pollution Public Inquiry and that it is initiated as a matter of urgency.
Thousands of people throughout the UK are dying from Air Pollution confirmed by a recent World Health Organisation report. The Government and Local Authorities have failed to implement effective Air Quality Strategies and the EU will be forced to consider what action is to be taken for breaches of air pollution standards by the UK.
In London, transport policies have failed to reduce harmful emissions and these ineffective policies are replicated nationwide.
The petitioners have argued that If there was a train crash and 80 people died there would be an immediate Public Inquiry to establish the cause and what could be done to prevent it ever happening again.
In London 80 people die every single week from Air Pollution and there should be a Public Inquiry to establish the cause and what can be done to prevent it from continuing to happen.
Elsewhere in the country planning applications rejected by local planning authorities on environmental grounds such as air pollution are subsequently overturned by the Secretary of State.
A Public Inquiry is urgently needed to investigate and expose the failures which are causing thousands of deaths each year.
We would urge the Committee to support this call for a Public Inquiry.
Yours Sincerely,
John McDonnell MP
John Robertson MP
Teresa Pearce MP
Baroness Lister
Baroness Tonge
Grahame Morris MP
Barbara Keeley MP
Baroness Warnock
Sir Bob Russell MP
Lord Whitty
Michael Meacher MP
Andrew Slaughter MP
Lord Dubs
David Lammy MP
Andy Love MP
Lord Smith of Clifton
Lord Noon
Jeremy Corbyn MP
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Lord Rea
John Pugh MP
Glenda Jackson MP
Liz McInnes MP
Ronnie Campbell MP
Kelvin Hopkins MP